Fig & Chocolate Biscotti

Combining fig and chocolate is not new around here. We’ve done it before and it was remarkably tasty, even if it was a baking-wreck-rescue. But this cookie might even be better.

A good biscotti (or the separated at birth twin-cousin, mandelbrot) is best eaten with a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea. But learn my lesson and try to avoid eating them over say, a keyboard, unless you’re in the market for a new one (wireless would be nice, thanks). Crumbs. Lots and lots of crumbs. Even biscotti baked with regular AP flour are crumble-somey. That’s what they do, so don’t think anything went haywire. It didn’t. Just accept the crumbs and be sure to use a napkin or get a dog.

Wondering about making good, crumbly biscotti/mandelbrot? Refrigerate the dough once it is formed into loaves. It hydrates the flours and allows the whole thing to chill which gives it a nice crumb (ha) and keeps it from getting too brown. I’m sure there is some science behind that, but it works every time, so go with it. Also, don’t be impatient to slice them after they are out of the oven. Letting them cool so that the chocolate is not too smeary makes for a neater cookie.

Shaping the loaves is pretty easy. To form the biscotti loaf, divide the dough in half equally. Roll each half into a log about 10 inches long. Transfer the log to the prepared pan and press down lightly shaping the dough into a crescent (think tunnel) shape. Typically the loaf is about 3-inches by 10-inches long and the height about a half-inch or so at the peak. Smooth out the dough with clean, wet fingers. Sort of like finger-painting the loaf. Two loaves will fit on one parchment lined baking sheet – just make sure each gets its own (long) side of the pan because the baking powder means they will puff up slightly.

Don’t bake them in a loaf pan or 9×13 or any other pan and then slice them. Biscotti needs a solid crust all the way around which is why they are baked on a sheet pan.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl blend sugar and butter together with a wooden spoon. Add eggs and vanilla mixing until fully blended. Add flour mixture and blend together until fully combined. Stir in chopped figs and chocolate chunks. Divide dough in half and form into logs. Place each log on the baking sheet and press until flattened into a crescent shape - about ½ inch tall and about 3-inches wide and about 9 to 10-inches long. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and place baking sheet in heated oven. Bake 25-35 minutes or until the logs are pale golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a rack. Once cool, slice logs into 1-inch wide slices and stand each piece on a baking sheet leaving a small amount of room in between slices. Turn oven temperature to 300°F and bake the slices for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and toasty looking. Turn oven temperature off and leave cookies in the oven for another 30 minutes to dry. Cool completely on a rack. Store in a tin for best results. Expect them to crumble a bit and for the figs to get slightly crunchy when freshly cooled – they will soften after sitting a day. Makes 24-26 biscotti.

Notes

Canteen flour blend is 2 parts superfine brown rice flour plus 1 part each superfine white rice flour and tapioca flour/starch by weight for best results. See About Flours for more information.